The United States covers a large part of the North American continent.Its neighbors are Canada to the north and Mexico to the south.Although the United States is a big country，it is not the largest in the world.In 1964，its population was over 185，000，000.
When this land first became a nation，after winning its independence from England，it had thirteen states.Each of the states was represented（代表）on the American flag by a star.All these states were in the eastern part of the continent.As the nation grew toward the west，new states were added and new stars appeared on the flag.For a long time，there were 48stars.In 1959，however，two more stars were added to the flag，representing the new states of Alaska and Hawaii.
Indians were the first people of the land which is now the United States.There are still many thousands of Indians now living in all parts of the country.Sometimes it is said that the Indians are “the only real Americans”.Most Americans come from all over the world.Those who came first in greatest numbers to make their homes on the eastern coast of North America were mostly from England.It is for that reason that the official language of the United States is English and that its culture and customs are more like those of England than those of any other country in the world.

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